parenthood

"I came to parenting the way most of us do - knowing nothing and trying to learn everything." - Mayim Bialik (Actor and Neuroscientist)

Adelyn " Resilient Spirit"

“At 7 years old, Adelyn was a normally happy, spunky and very active little girl. All of the sudden, she was complaining about most physical activity and was tired all the time. Between 2013-2017, Adelyn ended up in and out of casts and splints with a combination of 14 fractures and bone contusions.

She was devastated after each broken bone and I always worried if this ‘one more thing’ would break her spirit. She never let a cast slow her down. It was as if it became her new normal.

Adelyn is now 12 and still, one of the many struggles with Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) is that it’s so rare and still not widely understood. For the most part though, Adelyn is a normal kid and you’d never know the struggles she’s faced.”

Carrie "My Little Overcomer"

“Something is wrong with Carrie. Her head is too small and she does not have a soft spot.” I was stunned as I did not have an idea as to what this meant at all. My wife Nancy said, through tears, that the doctor felt that Carrie’s brain was too small and that there was probably brain damage. The doctor had come to a quick conclusion that Carrie may never develop intellectually at all. The doctor envisioned, because her head was so small, that Carrie’s brain was severely damaged. Despite our strong faith in God, we were crushed.

Her Doctor recommended we look into institutions for Carrie as he imagined she would need continual care since she would never be able to do anything for herself. Nancy had nothing to do with any of that and she looked at the doctor defiantly and said, “God has given Carrie to us and He will take care of her.”

…

That was over 40 years ago, and even still today, one day at a time - Carrie was, and is overcoming.

Sheranne & Ross “Power of Perseverance”

"We were heartbroken and felt helpless but we were not about to give up, we were however about to let go. Let go, and Let God is what we decided to do. We gave up trying to control the situation and fix it ourselves.

I had fear of the unknown, fear of how the surgery would go, fear of how recovery would be, fear of possible failure, fear of how both our lives would be following this date and how we might forever be changed.

Today, I am determined not to let fear and worry rob me of any more precious time."

Sandy and Brianna "Overwhelming Joy"

"There is no more joy than finding out that you are going to have a baby. You spend hours planning for the baby to finally arrive - from clothing to decorating a nursery, never dreaming of any kind of news that can change the overwhelming joy to overwhelming fear.

After a 14 day-stay in the NICU, I was finally taking my Brianna home, the day I had dreamed of since finding out I was pregnant. But, the day did not come with the normal joys or normal worries of a first time mother. I questioned myself... was I even capable of taking care of this child? Was she going to be ok? What happens if I cannot take care of her?

...I have learned through all my years with Brianna, that I have one amazing, brave, sweet girl. Brianna shows me all the time what life is really all about."

Cindy "Love You Forever"

"It wasn’t until Michael was about 20 that he had to have surgery on his shoulder. He was prescribed pain pills that he took over the next five months. I didn’t realize at the time that this was the beginning of his own long battle with drugs.

Over the next couple of years I saw the signs, but didn’t know how to help him. He was so good at hiding and I was so good at denial.

The very next weekend after Michael was arrested for drug possession, I received a call from my other son, Steven. He had been having some medical issues, although we had no idea that they were serious. He was crying and saying that they found cancer spots on his liver, pancreas and bones.

During this time, I had so many people tell me that they were sorry and that they couldn’t believe we had to go through this. At this point it came to me—why do we ask why? We only ask "Why?" when we are dealt with something we don’t like. I never asked why I was so lucky to have healthy kids and a good job. So I decided “why?” wasn’t going to be a question anymore."

Cameron and Zeke "Alone-Together"

If you are the parent of a child with special needs, there are books for you. If you have a son or daughter with a disability, there are support groups. There are lots of other people out there that will tell you how to parent. “What there isn’t, is someone to show you how to be a sibling to someone with special needs.” And yet somehow, Cameron was born knowing how to be the best sister to her brother. According to Cara, their mother, Cameron, “has shown complete fearlessness, dedication, and maturity,” all without being taught. From her daughter, Cara has learned that “to be gentle, and to fight CAN be the same thing.”

Tiffany's Story "Unanswered Prayers"

Knowing our child’s birth mother would be an important part of our family’s story, we took her to Wichita one weekend to meet Matt’s family. The entire drive we discussed baby names. After discussing options, she said she wanted us to choose as we would be his parents. Seriously, the maturity of this 18-year-old girl astounded me!

Mollie's Story "Faith Over Fear"

Willa was 11 ½ months old when we got to China. I can’t explain the joy of having her in my arms. We had to wait six long months to go get her after seeing her beautiful face. It was torture knowing she was there in an orphanage, when in our minds she was already ours.

DeDe's Story "Redefining Perfect"

Tyler was born on a Sat at 12:05. Kevin ran out of the delivery room to tell everyone that we had a healthy baby boy. While Kevin was out of the room, the nurse laid Tyler in my arms announcing that they suspected that Tyler had Down Syndrome. How could this be? His sister had Down Syndrome...this wasn’t supposed to happen to us. It can’t happen two times in a row...God had other plans for us.

Hannah and Gage's Story "Love Him Unconditionally"

Our journey with Gage has challenged and strengthened my faith and brought so much joy into my life. At first, I was blindly optimistic, thinking Gage would outgrow all of his challenges and end up being a regular kid given enough time. There were also times that I was filled with worry and fear when I read the worst-case scenario stories about other kids with the same diagnosis. Since he was my first baby, I didn’t realize right away that Gage was much different than any other child.

Tabetha's Story "It's What's On The Inside"

I’ve learned so much through these challenges my family has faced. One thing is not to pity people for their disabilities. My daughter, yes, she has disabilities, but she has changed me in so many ways. She has made me have the drive to become a nurse. She has shown me the true meaning of strength. She is only five, and she’s conquered death.

Jamie's Story "Redefine Success"

We started down the parenthood road February 20 1993, the day Connor was born. Connor was a typical developing baby until a series of events took place. When he was 12-months-old we began to notice regression and had major concerns. He lost all his language and his motor skills slowly began to go away.

After trips to four major hospitals and universities, in1996, Kansas University had a developmental team that finally put a name to it, autism. With our only reference for this word being the movie “Rainman”, we set out on a journey to find help for Connor.

Ashley's Story "Consistency and Love"

But despite all of our shortcomings, and at the risk of sounding cliché, through it all, we simply live, we remember to laugh, and we consistently love. With over 400,000 kids in foster care, and 100,000 who are available for adoption, we want to share our story and a glimpse into our life to encourage people to let go and let God lead you away from fear and reservation if you have a heart for the fatherless. There will never be a right time. You will never have it all together. But if you are ready to throw your hands up and surrender to this amazing ride, I promise you will have no regrets!

Megan's Story "Real Gifts Not Possessions"

The minute you realize you are pregnant, you are never alone in your head again. When you marry, there’s an unspoken “knowing” that you and your partner can both care for yourselves. When you have a baby, it’s a different thing. You have been blessed with the responsibility of honoring a being, watching and knowing that being, and helping guide them to their intended purpose in life.

Sue's Story "Just Love!"

In 2006, my grandson was born and he has lived with me his whole life. He made me want to make life good for him, be the one constant thing in his life. My daughter tried but it seemed that drugs and poor choices always interfered with her life as a mom so I was always there for him. My granddaughter was born 2009 and I have had her since the beginning also.

Elizabeth and Peyton's Story "A Miraculous Plan"

I will never take for granted how lucky we are. And I will never understand why we were given a child like Peyton. Maybe I'm just simply not supposed to. But I do know that by having faced all that we faced when Peyton was born, I've learned a lot about myself.

Caroline's Story "Barren To Blessed"

"So, in 1983, at the age of 11, I became gravely ill with this rare bacterial infection. I underwent an emergency hysterectomy. I was the youngest female known to have a hysterectomy...My story didn't end here. It has unfolded to include adoption through foster care and reaching out to others through my personal blog."

Patti's Story "Straight From The Heart"

Daniel and I are high school sweethearts who married at the age of twenty. We knew we wanted children and we also knew that adoption would be in the fabric of our family makeup. I grew up in Southeast Asia: Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. Adoption was in my heart at a very young age after seeing the heartache of the orphan crisis firsthand. Thankfully Daniel was one the same page from day one.

Angie's Story "Two Chances in 100"

Sarah (now age 20) and Rachel (18 this month) recently told me that they were unaware of what was happening when I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 7-years-later. They were young and confused. I wish I had done a better job giving them age appropriate information. As I think of what I truly want them to know today, this is where I landed. Girls, this is for you."

Erin's Story "Broken Yet Gracious"

It was a 12-hour delivery. Abigail Elizabeth Glover was 7 pounds, 8 ounces and was 22 inches long - she looked just like her father. As the doctor placed Abby on my stomach, I kept looking at her wanting a miracle so bad - just a gasp of breath from her tiny body. She looked perfect, nothing physically wrong, so maybe the doctors were wrong. The room was overly quiet except for one nurse crying. I could hear. Every sniff, every cry and every beep from the machines, all at once. A quiet delivery room must be the saddest sound ever.

Abigail's Story "Who I Am Underneath"

I grew up in a Christian home. My Dad’s family were missionaries and still build churches in Chile, South America. When I was a senior in high school my parents got divorced. It’s amazing how much that changes your life. I started feeling so much hate. My grades suffered, I cried myself to sleep and I went from being a super fun and happy to mad at everyone and everything.

Abby's Story "Don't Give Up"

"I pray every day that each person in my family gets to live a long, healthy, and happy life and I get to enjoy every minute of it here with them on earth, but when I do get to heaven, I will get to be the momma I have always pictured in my mind, living eternal life in a big, big house with lots and lots of kids."

Amy's Story "A New Heart"

"I have two little boys who I was told I would never have. I was told I wouldn’t make it through Dylan’s birth. He is now almost 7-years-old. I am grateful for every day I wake up and I see their faces. I pray I will be able to watch them grow."

Carrie and Maria's Story "Lifesaver"

Pearl's Story - Chapter 1 "Embrace"

"I read this poem that said, "why does God give a mother a child with cancer. and the poem goes on to tell you "because she is not selfish, because she can give her life and because she can provide." And that is what we have done."